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UI Police share update on student death investigation

Posted on Friday, February 15th, 2019

The University of Iowa Department of Public Safety has received the death certificate for Gerald Belz from the Johnson County Medical Examiner Department. The cause of death was hypothermia due to cold exposure. There was evidence of recent use of THC. The Medical Examiner Department has concluded that the death was an accident.

UI Police discovered Belz unresponsive Wednesday, Jan. 30, at approximately 2:48 a.m. behind Halsey Hall on the UI campus. He was transported to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where he died shortly after 4:30 a.m. The information from the Medical Examiner Department will contribute to the university’s ongoing investigation and our thoughts remain with the Belz family and friends.

Belz was in his second semester at Iowa but had earned enough credits to be considered a second-year student. He was a pre-medicine major from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Losing a fellow student and member of our university family is difficult. We encourage our students and staff members to reach out if they are in need of support.